CH 24

(Where Did Zhou Wenyan Go?)

Edited by Sliver Wind 

In a flash, there was pandemonium.

Initially, the players did not notice that Sister Axe was amongst them, and it took a certain distance before some players realised the true identity of Sister Axe.

Then, there was another wave of panic.

“AH—” 

“She’s not human!”

“Fucking run, fucking run!”

Sister Axe, who presumed the person with the chainsaw was still chasing after her, was even more panicked than the players beside her.

Meanwhile, Fang Qi, who was the silent witness to the entire scene: Why was the big boss always turning a horror movie into a comedy?

Before the person with the chainsaw could catch her, she was subdued by the person beside her.

While everyone else was busy running as far as they could, the lady in a short skirt took hold of Sister Axe’s neck and used her own body to press her victim to the ground in a deadlock – all of which were done without any hesitation.

Sister Axe started struggling frantically.

However, under the circumstance where she did not have her axe, her fighting prowess was equivalent to a five out of ten, and her attempts to break away were to no avail. 

With her actions, the girl in twin ponytails also stopped and she turned her head back to take a look, somewhat anxious: “Blueberry, why did you stop running?”

“It’s fine,” Blueberry asserted calmly, “It’s not the Chainsaw Bro they’re talking about.”

Twin Ponytails: “But he’s holding a chainsaw!”

Blueberry: “The Chainsaw Bro they were referring to was tall and robust, whereas this one..” 

As she voiced out her thoughts, she gave the slim young man holding a chainsaw a glance. Simultaneously, the latter man’s gaze had homed in on Sister Axe, and he was walking over in big strides.

Blueberry raised her head: “It’s you.”

Shen Dongqing felt that she looked a little familiar. After taking a few more glances, he remembered that she was the lady who spoke to them in the coffee shop.

He smiled at Blueberry and a small dimple appeared on his cheek,making him look innocent and pure which formed a sharp contrast to the chainsaw he had in his hands. 

Blueberry’s line of sight drifted from the chainsaw to the ghost she was holding down before she understood that Sister Axe was Shen Dongqing’s prey. Thus, she brushed off her hands and stood up.

Feeling the pressure lift off her body abruptly, Sister Axe was about to stand up when a chainsaw abruptly fell from above and cut into the floor like tofu; the rev of the cutting chain still ongoing and sliced a few inches shy of her head.

When she slowly raised her head, she met with a kind, smiling expression.

Shen Dongqing: “Don’t be afraid, I’m a good person.” 

Sister Axe was shocked to the point where she did not move.

After Shen Dongqing had a friendly exchange with Sister Axe, during which he showed off the potential of the chainsaw, he managed to successfully convince Sister Axe to lead them to the upper levels of the hospital.

The process to attain harmony could be glossed over, but it had thoroughly shocked Twin Ponytails and the experienced and knowledgeable Blueberry. 

[I have never seen someone play the game like this before.jpg]

Feeling faint, Sister Axe stood right at the front to lead the way.

And behind her were a bunch of players who felt equally faint, and each of them were sending out the question that was brewing in their head:

Qts kfgf atfs jikjsr yflcu mtjrfv ys utbrar jcv wbcrafgr, ktlif atlr ylu ybrr mbeiv erf atf utbrar jr tlr abbir? 

Vtfc Gbcudlcu jrxfv: “Pr atfgf jcsbcf firf?”

Diefyfggs: “Ktlr mbqs lr j rlz-qijsfg ujwf, la’r lwqbrrlyif ab tjnf rbwfbcf firf.”

Vtfc Gbcudlcu: “Vlz qijsfgr?”

Dea qglbg ab atlr, Itbe Qfcsjc tjv abiv tlw atja joafg ylcvlcu, atfs kbeiv jikjsr fcafg atf rjwf mbqs. 

Furthermore, the special item to enter this game was given to him by Zhou Wenyan, so how could he be absent?

Blueberry seemed to hear his doubts and she proceeded to pull out a piece of paper.

It was the sanatorium’s daily record, and it roughly read: Recently, six patients were transferred to Fukuyama Psychiatric Sanatorium.

It was referring to the six of them, which was why Blueberry was so certain. 

Blueberry asked: “Are you looking for your companion? The person from the coffee shop?”

After being tangled for a bit, Shen Dongqing tossed it to the back of his mind: “It’s nothing, maybe his identity is not a patient. We’ll go up and take a look first.”

Blueberry stopped talking.

Since they were in a sanatorium, if he was not a patient, he had to be a doctor; with the setting they were in, the two people in question were fated to be hostile to each other. 

Having been through games with two camps, she knew that other than having to go against the ghosts and monsters, she had to keep her guard up against antagonistic players that sought to impede others. However, such situations were rare and the probability of that happening was not high. Although she hesitated a little when she ruminated to this point, she chose to keep silent.

Shen Dongqing did not notice the turns of Blueberry’s mind and he continued to follow Sister Axe.

After walking forward for a period of time, Sister Axe came to a stop, and no matter how she threatened, she did not dare to take another step forward. She pointed to the corridor in front of her and issued an “ah ah” from her mouth.

Thin person: “What is she even saying?” 

Twin Ponytails snorted out loud: “Naturally, it’s ghost talk.[1]”

After listening to it, Shen Dongqing translated: “She said that there is an existence that is stronger than Chainsaw Bro upstairs and she does not dare to go up, so she’ll lead us until here.”

Hearing this, the others became uneasy.

Although they hadn’t encountered Chainsaw Bro, seeing the chainsaw that Shen Dongqing was holding was enough to know that he was not weak by any means, and it was not something they could go against. If that was the case, wouldn’t that make the ghost upstairs even more terrifying? 

Shen Dongqing huffed and worry tinged his visage.

Fang Qi fretted: “Big boss?”

If his big boss couldn’t handle it either, then wouldn’t he be giving up his life for free like it was the toy that came with a kid’s meal?

Contrary to his own thoughts, Shen Dongqing was worrying about something else: “I need to find someone else to lead the way again, how troublesome.” 

Fang Qi: … Oh.

The big boss’s mind was something he could never keep up with.

Having completed her mission of leading the way, Sister Axe slipped away, leaving the group of players in front of the stairs leading upwards.

Half of the staircase was hidden in the dark, and the darkness was like a beast that only devoured humans as it coldly watched the people below. 

Shen Dongqing took the lead.

Fang Qi followed behind him closely: “Big boss, you don’t want your chainsaw?” He pointed at the chainsaw he threw to the ground.

Shen Dongqing said with distaste: “It’s boring, I don’t want to play with it anymore.”

And thus, the powerful and alarming chainsaw was abandoned on a whim. 

Crewcut turned his back to glance at it, somewhat reluctant. While no one was looking, he thickened his skin and turned back to try and pick it up.

Crewcut thought: If a person as thin and fair-skinned as Shen Dongqing could lift up the chainsaw with a single hand and do it so easily, then he might as well not live if he did not try it once.

However, he never expected that not only could he not pick it up with one hand, using both his hands and feet to heft it up was also beyond him.

And since it was impossible, Crewcut could only flush and give up on the idea of picking up the chainsaw as he caught up with the rest in a hurry. 

The layout of the second floor was similar to the first floor.

After going up the stairs, there were wards on both sides but only the right end led to the office and archives.

The office door was locked and there was a card reader by the door. 

It was probably installed to prevent the patients from entering the room by mistake and it required the swipe of a card in order to enter.

Fang Qi touched his pocket: “I have an Identity Card here—”

He had only drawn the card out halfway when his movements came to a halt.

Shen Dongqing stepped forward and tried to push at the door before he came to a conclusion: “We can just kick it open.” 

“Wait…”

Fang Qi subconsciously closed his eyes.

Only to hear a “BANG”.

The door was kicked open. Unable to bear the huge burden, the door swayed. 

Silently, Fang Qi stuffed the identity card into his pocket again.

The office was not large, and it would be a tight squeeze if six people were to go in.

Crewcut spoke first: “I won’t be going in; I’ll stay outside to guard the door instead. If anything happens, I’ll warn you.”

Crewcut had his own contingencies. 

If he were to encounter any danger while he was in the room, there was no possibility for him to escape. Whereas if he stood outside the door, no matter if it was left or right, he still had an escape route the moment there was a sign of disturbance.

The others were not fools; naturally, they could guess his plans.

Team spirit could not be expected from six individuals that were placed together temporarily. After Crewcut had voiced his position, the Thin person also showed his attitude and said that he wanted to stay outside the door.

Blueberry, on the other hand, offered to go in together. 

Shen Dongqing did not notice the undercurrents occurring between his teammates. Rather, he had no apprehensions, and he walked into the office without any hesitation.

Fang Qi gave the people shrinking outside the door a pitying glance, and he followed Shen Dongqing closely.

Unfortunately for them, the safest place in the sanatorium was the place by Big boss’s side. While the others were unaware of this fact, he was perfectly clear about it.

Shen Dongqing scrutinised the entire room at once.

The office was clean and tidy; everything was clear at a glance.

Opposite of the door was a bookshelf filled with rows of books, and maybe because the inhabitant had left in a rush, the desk was messy and some documents were strewn on the floor.

Shen Dongqing walked over and lifted the file on the table. 

Ding—

A small key fell on the ground.

Shen Dongqing picked it up to inspect it. The key was small and it was probably a key for a drawer.

He paced to the front of the desk and gave the key a try. Sure enough, it opened one of them. 

Pulling open the drawer, he found a thick stack of materials.

He held it up to take a look. On top of the pile was a nurse’s journal and the contents were regarding her work in the sanatorium.

17th Day of Work 

Six patients arrived today and one of them was especially tall and big, and it makes me worry if we can contain him if he were to act up. Fortunately, he did not stay with us for long. The Director took him away and said that he was going to give him special treatment.

Therefore, there are only five patients left, and I hope they are not aggressive by nature.

30th Day of Work

Without realising it, I have been working here for a month. The job provides a high salary and it even covers meals, but the only disadvantage is that you cannot leave the sanatorium as you wish. If you want to leave, you have to report it to the Director first because only he has the key for the main door. He said it was to prevent the patients from running out. 

Out of the five patients I have to care for, there is one less. My workload has decreased again.

I really want to go out…

46th Day of Work

Tomorrow is my rest day and I want to apply to leave the sanatorium. 

… I saw the Director! He was really really handsome, and he’s actually more handsome than a celebrity! However, the Director did not agree with my request to leave, and he said that the patients’ treatment have reached the critical juncture and he needs every pair of hands on deck.

But the six patients who had previously arrived are all in special wards, how is my help needed?

Fine… Seeing as to how it will give me a bonus- wait, why do I hear the sound of a chainsaw?

It must be my illusion. 

51st Day

Oh my god, the Director is doing [STRUCK OUT], treating the patients like this, I…

[STRUCK OUT]

[STRUCK OUT] 

I have to leave no matter what!

52nd Day

I hear the sound of the chainsaw again…

The journal ended abruptly.

After reading the journal, Fang Qi, who was leaning on his side, gave his opinion: “The Director must have conducted illegal human experimentations, and Chainsaw Bro was something he made. That has always been the case in horror movies.”

After he said that, he thought of another point: “If there were six patients who arrived back then, wouldn’t that mean that other than Chainsaw Bro, there’s five more of these creatures?”

Blueberry pulled out a yellowing piece of paper from the bookshelf, and after she spread it out, she exclaimed: “This is the floor plan of the sanatorium!” 

From the drawings, it could be observed that the sanatorium had a six-storey inpatient building, a five-storey office building, a canteen, a sports field and a dormitory.

Blueberry tapped on the map: “We’re here right now…”

A heart-breaking scream sounded from outside the office cut off her words.